The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Spathoglottis plant, botanically known as (Spathoglottis unguiculata .times.Spathoglottis plicata), and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name `Lencaract`.
The new cultivar is a product of a planned and controlled breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Bedburg-Hau, Germany. The objective of the breeding program is to create new compact Spathoglottis cultivars with large long-lasting flowers, intense flower color, and rapid growth rate.
The new cultivar originated from a cross by the Inventor between an unnamed (Spathoglottis plicata) as the female, or seed, parent with an unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculata.times.Spathoglottis plicata) as the male or pollen parent. The cultivar `Lencaract` was discovered and selected by the Inventor in May, 1995 as a plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Bedburg-Hau, Germany.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Bedburg-Hau, Germany, the following differences between the new Spathoglottis and the female parent, an unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata, have been observed:
1. Plants of the new Spathoglottis grow faster than plants of the unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata.
2. Plants of the new Spathoglottis have larger flowers than the unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata.
3. Flowers of plants of the new Spathoglottis are arranged closer together than flowers of plants of the unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata.
4. Flower color of plants of the new Spathoglottis is more intense purple than flower color of plants of the unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata.
5. Leaves of plants of the new Spathoglottis are narrower than leaves of plants of the unnamed selection of Spathoglottis plicata.
In side-by-side comparisons conducted by the Inventor in Bedburg-Hau, Germany, the following differences between the new Spathoglottis and the male parent, an unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculata.times.Spathoglottis plicata), have been observed:
1. Plants of the new Spathoglottis have larger flowers than the unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculata.times.Spathoglottis plicata).
2. Inflorescences of plants of the new Spathoglottis are larger than inflorescences of plants of the unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculatta.times.Spathoglottis plicata).
3. Flower color of plants of the new Spathoglottis is darker purple than flower color of plants of the unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculatta.times.Spathoglottis plicata).
4. Leaves of plants of the new Spathoglottis are broader than leaves of plants of the unnamed selection of (Spathoglottis unguiculata.times.Spathoglottis plicata).
Asexual propagation by divisions and tissue-culture of the new cultivar at Huissen, The Netherlands, has shown that the unique features of this new Spathoglottis plant are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual propagation.